Tag Archives: André Greipel

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 6

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Almost a day has passed since the carnage in stage 6 yesterday, but am still horrified and disgusted (of the officials) to write anything. Hence I’ll let the pictures and tweets do the talking for today. Stage results are available at the end of the post as usual (does not show the riders who lost bucket loads of time). But first the casualty list of yesterday’s crash (space doesn’t allow me to list all the horrible injuries, so mentioning only the major ones), which pales even the hair-raising stage 9 of 2011:

Wouter Poels – Vacansoleil DCM – ruptured spleen and kidney, broken ribs (surgery done yesterday evening)

Oscar Freire – Katusha - punctured lung and broken ribs

Maarten Wynants – Roabobank – punctured lung and broken ribs

Hubert Dupont – AG2R La Mondiale – fractured vertebrae and wrist

Ryder Hesjedal – Garmin Sharp Brracuda – hematoma on left hip (was running 9th overall)

Thomas Danielson – Garmin Sharp Brracuda – separated left shoulder & multiple injuries

Robert Hunter – Garmin Sharp Barracuda – stress fracture in vertebrae

Johan van Summeren – Garmin Sharp Barracuda – multiple injuries and abrasions

Imanol Erviti – Movistar – deep wound in right leg (needs surgery)

Ivan Gutierrez – Movistar – damaged knee

Davide Vigano – Lampre ISD – broken shoulder

Mikel Astarloza – Euskaltel Euskadi – right elbow dislocated

Txurruka – Euskaltel Euskadi – broken collarbone

Anthony Delaplace – Saur Sojasun – fractured wrist

Oh and by the way before the results, today is the first medium mountain stage of the Tour. Expect no fireworks from the big men, rather not from much of the peloton at all. Sigh!

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara

29h 22’ 36”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

Bradley Wiggins

29h 22’ 43”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

Sylvain Chavanel

29h 22’ 43”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

Peter Sagan

4h 00’ 37”

Sky Procylcing

88h 08’ 22”

André Greipel

4h 00’ 37”

Radioshack-Nissan

88h 08’ 26”

Matthew Goss

4h 00’ 37”

BMC Racing Team

88h 08’ 28”

David Zabriskie

Dossard Rouge
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Tour de France 2012 – Stage 5

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Two days, two sprints, two crashes – one result. And that was André Greipel winning his second successive stage in this year’s Tour, making it his 15th victory of the season. While his team again managed to keep him out of trouble, they were not able to launch him as well as he would have liked, but the in form German still came from behind to pip Matt Goss in the final sprint.

Cavendish who managed to escape the crash today, finished a disappointing fifth. His team was given a mouthful by manager Dave Brailsford after Wednesday’s fiasco (also six Sky riders have crashed already since the Tour began on 30 June), and the result was starkly visible as they formed a lead out train for Cavendish (while also protecting Wiggins). The train worked partly as it saved him from the crash, but could not launch Cav with the venom of his HTC team of yesteryear.

The crash again came just inside the 3km mark, this time Garmin-Sharp’s Tyler Farrar going hard to ground. It’s the American’s fourth crash in six days and he must have lost serious bit of skin by now (see the pic at the bottom). Farrar seemed to blame an Argos Oil rider as he went fuming to their team bus after finishing the stage (10 min after the leader but with the same time). Also miffed was Peter Sagan, who went down in the pileup and saw his gap to Greipel and Goss narrowed in the points classification.

Coming late in the stage, inside the 3km, ensured everyone was awarded the winner’s timing on the day, and  therefore Cancellara continues in yellow for the 27th day in his career. It’s the most any rider has been in yellow without actually winning the Tour ever, and the Swiss while definitely happy with his achievement, was realistic in his post stage comments, “It’s always a pleasure to ride in the yellow jersey and, plus, to make history like I have today is pretty awesome,” he said, adding, “The thought of actually winning the Tour de France is not realistic. The Tour is not what I have in my list of goals to win. The Tour is a dream and a dream is not a goal. A goal like that is something other riders have – from Fränk Schleck to [Andreas] Klöden, to [Bradley] Wiggins and Cadel [Evans]. I just live something else, I have the yellow jersey for 26 days now and that’s good.”

The day began with two troubling stories. First being the death of Belgian Willems-Accent rider Rob Goris (30), who suffered a fatal heart attack in his hotel at Rouen late on Wednesday night. He was covering the Tour for Flemish television and knew many riders on the circuit personally. Few in the peloton expressed their condolences by wearing black armbands, while others expressed their grief on twitter:

Other news on the day related to the controversial battle between the USADA and 7 time Tour winner Lance Armstrong. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf claimed yesterday that Armstrong’s ex-teammates George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie (all riding in the current Tour) have provided evidence against the retired Texan to the authorities. The report also claims all riders have received delayed 6 month bans and have not been considered for the Olympics.

None of the riders wanted to be pulled into the controversy, and Leipheimer told reporters, “I cannot comment, I’m here to ride my bike,” while Hincapie said, “I’ve always tried to do the right thing for my sport but I’ve got other things on my mind here.” The Dutch newspaper also named current Garmin-Sharp boss Jonathan Vaughters who is a staunch opposer of doping (though has admitted having made ‘mistakes’ in past), and has made his team around the principles of clean riding. He was not available for comment but responded strongly against the allegation on twitter, dismissing it to be untrue.

Once the race got going, not many were thinking of acrimonious politics, at least not Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ), Jan Ghyselinck (COF), Julien Simon (SAU) and Pablo Urtasun (EUS) who went on the attack inside the first kilometer. Behind them the peloton went short of one rider, as Marcel Kittel of Argos-Shimano quit around the 40km mark. He has been suffering with stomach problems since the prologue, though he said it was his left knee that forced the withdrawal.

Stage 5 took us amidst breathtaking landscapes and in near perfect weather, which the bruised peloton seemed to be enjoying thoroughly with a slow day on the road. Average speeds hovered around a glacial 40km/hr and even the commentators were getting fed up of this procession, describing the pace (or lack thereof) such that the riders “could buy an ice cream as they go”.

The intermediate sprint woke the group from its slumber, once again Cavendish pipping Goss and Renshaw to earn a few useful points. Despite this momentary burst, the main pack adopted a laissez faire policy about the breakaway ahead of them. They were confident that generally these stages go as a pre-defined sprint. The breakaway starts early, but tires and is reeled in within the final kilometers.

If that is so, someone forgot to in form the attackers. They approached the last 10km with a gap of 45 seconds, and maintained to around 20 seconds with 3km to go. This induced panic in the sprint teams as it seemed they had timed their burst a little too late.  And as the peloton was split was the crash behind him, Ghyslink attacked and broke free of the leaders as they passed under the flamme rouge.

Next 1000m witnessed the most enthralling finish of this year, as all the breakaway men had a chance for glory in the last kilometer. Ghyslink was first caught by Urtasun, who himself was pipped by Ladagnous inside the final 500m. But just when it seemed the Frenchman would pull off an unexpected and momentous victory, he was overtaken by the sprinters inside the final 300m. Watching it on TV, it came as a rude wake up call from a beautiful dream, and must have felt worse for the FDJ rider.

The valiant Frenchman recapped his intense battle after the finish, “”It was possible. In the end, Ghyselinck has tried to anticipate as he knew he was slower than us in a sprint. After I told myself I would attack because it is better to lose trying to win, rather than just coming second. When the rider of Euskaltel attacked, I let him do his effort and I got back on track, but the peloton was right on us even thought we could see the finish line. This is the second time it happens to me when I’ve spent a day in the lead of a stage of the Tour. Of course I am disappointed. We had to play cat and mouse games with the peloton. It was no use to ride full-gas all day. But in the last 30 kilometers we gave it everything we had. It’s a shame… but I will try to get in another breakaway, and try again to get a victory.”

It wasn’t easy on the sprinters either as Matt Goss’ herculean effort from 400m to reel down Ladagnous cost him the victory. He did not have the legs for such a long sprint, and his vanquisher Greipel himself described it as “one of the hardest sprints I’ve ever done.” I hope he has something left in his tank for today, which is the last sprint stage in the opening part of the Tour.

Stage 6 signals a transition as the pack would move on to tackle mountains and time trials for the next week and so, and all sprinters would be keen not to let Greipel make a clean sweep of it. Cavendish must be fuming inside and it would be a brave man to bet against him today, though such hunger can only increase the possibility of yet another incident in the rush to the line. Top GC men can cool their heels for one last day, before the action really heats up starting Saturday. So here’s to another round of cheese talks, rolling farms, slow speeds and a hectic finish. Now if only we could have our first surprise winner today…

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara

24h 45’ 32”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

Bradley Wiggins

24h 45’ 39”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

Sylvain Chavanel

24h 45’ 39”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

André Greipel

4h 41’ 30”

Sky Procylcing

74h 17’ 10”

Matthew Goss

4h 41’ 30”

Radioshack-Nissan

74h 17’ 14”

Juan Jose

4h 41’ 30”

BMC Racing Team

74h 17’ 16”

Matthieu Ladagnous

Dossard Rouge

ps: Four crashes in six days, but still going strong. Tyler Farrar #respect

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 4

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“Whatever limits us, we call fate,” wrote Ralph Emerson, words that were resounding loud in the Tour yesterday. A fateful crash inside the final 3 kilometers prevented Mark Cavendish’s chance to equal Armstrong’s record of 22 stage wins in the Tour, and in his expressions if not words, he seemed to blame lady luck. But as the quote above would remind him, it is not for great men to blame fate, even so when on numerous occasions it has been kind to him.

Yesterday, it was smiling on André Greipel, the German who had narrowly missed out on victory in stage 2. He was delivered to perfection by his team’s lead out men, and once in the clear with 250mtr to go, never had a problem holding off Alessandro Petacchi and Tom Veelers. Matt Goss was the expected challenger, but he could only finish fourth, ahead of Peter Sagan.

Despite the strong finish, much of the focus remained on the big pile up caused by Robbie Hunter, who seemed to have clipped a fellow rider’s wheel as the peloton was steaming in for a sprint finish. At 40mph there is no chance for anyone to take evasive action, and the entire lot behind him either succumbed to a fall, or were held up with nowhere to go. Worst to come out were Cavendish and his teammate Bernard Eisel.

Both men remounted and seemed to suffer only superficial injuries as a result of the tumble. Eisel needed stitches over his right eyebrow, while the world champion’s torn jersey hinted at quite a bit of painful road rash underneath. Their team’s directeur sportif, Sean Yates later said about Cav, “He’s covered in cuts, all over. On his back, on his legs, on his shoulder, on his hip, so yeah, he’s beaten up.”

All the top GC men too were held up in the crash, though fortunately none took a tumble and since the incident happened inside the 3km mark, all of them received the lead pack’s timing. It is the primary reason riders always try to stay at the head of the pack, as crashes generally happen towards the middle or rear of the peloton. For Greipel all the hard work of his Lotto-Belisol teammates was worth the trouble, firstly keeping him out of the chaos, and then guiding him in text-book fashion for an uplifting victory.

Even before the race started on Tuesday, the dark cloud of stage 3’s crashes hung over the competitors, as Maarten Tjallingii of Rabobank did not make it to the start line due to injuries sustained on the previous day. Yesterday’s breakaway came right at the start, this time three men, Yukiya Arashiro (EUC), David Moncoutie (COF) and Anthony Delaplace (SAU) surging to the lead. While the stage featured four climbs, Michael Morkov, who is comfortably ahead in the King of the mountains classification, chose to take a breather having attacked for three straight days previously.

First action of the day came at the intermediate sprint, which whipped up a frenzy among the sprinters in the peloton to accumulate points for the green jersey. With no incident, Cavendish beat Goss, Renshaw and Sagan to close the gap narrowly on the Solvak. Rolling ahead there was a minor crash when Australian Jonathan Cantwell catapulted into the grass margin, taking GC contender Vicenzo Nibali along with him. No panic for the Italian though, as he escaped without any injury and with the help of teammates caught up with the peloton a short while later.

There was hardly any event to talk of for most of the distance and on such days you really have to feel for the commentators as they try hard to keep the viewers entertained and engrossed in the proceedings. From castles en route to cheese to the fancy dress of road side fans, small talk of varying topics seems to be the solution, which if nothing is food for idle thought at best.

Dumb Tour fact for the hungry: Did you know Radioshack-Nissan rider Maxime Monfort has a cheese named after him in his native Belgium. Maybe its laced with extra carbs to sate those hungry muscles.

Entering the last 10kms, the peloton had more on their mind than cheese as the initial attacks started to emerge. Gilbert, Dumoulin, Bouet, Pineau and Grivko all tried their luck, but none could open up a gap more than 20 odd meters over the hungry pack of wolves (read sprinters) behind. That man Sylvain Chavanel has been obsessed to don yellow since the prologue this year (trailing a mere 7 seconds behind Cancellara), and yesterday too his gave his all. Sadly yet again he timed the attack a bit too early and did not have the legs to sustain the pace till the finish line.

Ultimately the crash partly decided the result, making the finish a three-way fight between Greipel, Petacchi and Goss. Though the man of this Tour, Peter Sagan too gave it a shot, he was always an outside chance, and eventually could not match the burst in pace of the specialist sprinters. His fifth place finish at least consolidated his place further in the points table.

After the stage Tour leader Fabian Cancellara had an explanation to the chaotic finish, “In my opinion there is not one team making a train like [Mario] Cipollini or Cav had in the past. That is probably the difference, there is no sprinter team with six or seven riders putting everything in line. With 3km to go there was a mass of riders and someone touched someone else. It’s not done on purpose, just everyone fighting to get the best spot.”

For sure such crashes are not intended and mere accidents, but affected riders always feel a tinge of being cheated by fate. Fortunately for Cavendish, he won’t have to wait long to test his ability (or fate) again, as today’s stage 5 is even more suited for his ilk. At 196.5km it is shorter than yesterday, and with no climbs en route, it should be one really fast day. Which also means we have to bear more talks of cheese and other such topics as the peloton ambles for 185 of those 196km. The last 10km is all that will matter and with egos bruised, prepare for an explosion extraordinairé.

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

     Fabian Cancellara

20h 04’ 02”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

     Bradley Wiggins

20h 04’ 09”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

     Sylvain Chavanel

20h 04’ 09”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

André Greipel

5h 18’ 32”

Sky Procylcing

60h 12’ 40”

Alessandro Petacchi

5h 18’ 32”

Radioshack-Nissan

60h 12’ 44”

Tom Veelers

5h 18’ 32”

BMC Racing Team

60h 12’ 46”

Yukiya Arashiro

Dossard Rouge
ps: to bring a good cheer on bored faces (for the guys at least):

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 3

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Not many were impressed in the manner with which Peter Sagan claimed his maiden Tour victory on stage 1 couple of days ago (yours truly being one among the critics), but there could be no criticism whatsoever about his win yesterday as he decimated everyone, finishing more than comfortably ahead of second placed Edvald Boasson Hagen. The Slovak in fact had enough time to perform a jig (in his words imitating the running style of Forest Gump), reminiscent of Usain Bolt’s shenanigans after destroying the field on a Chinese track in 2008.

Unlike the finish on Sunday, Peter did not hitch a ride behind a fellow rider, instead bullied his way up the steep incline, leaving all the rest for dead. He surely has arrived on the Tour with a loud bang now and already comparisons are being made with the iconic Eddy Merckx. Looking at his performance till date – two stage victories and lead in the green jersey classification – he might live up to those expectations.

One knows he has made an impact when your main rivals start applauding you, and furthermore, compare you with contemporary genius. Team Sky’s chief, Dave Brailsford was so impressed with the 22-year-old rider, he said, “Its like watching Messi play football, you tip your hat and smile.”

But behind this victorious youngster, the peloton was in a state of disarray. Today’s stage was expected to throw the cat among the pigeons causing a few hairy moments, and it surpassed those expectations – not in an altogether pleasant way. By the end of the day we had our first painful withdrawals from this year’s race, Sky’s Kanstantsin Sivtsov (fractured tibia) and Movistar’s José-Joaquin Rojas (broken collar-bone).

In comparison Thomas Voeckler, Philippe Gilbert, Daniel Martin, Christian Vandevelde and Tom Danielson were luckier to have finished unscathed, though losing big chunks of time on the leaders. All this does raise a few questions against the organiser’s insistence on introducing an element of thrill and unpredictability by means of such stages. Yes we all like a few twists in the script, however at what cost? Some have even began to blame such routes on making the race a “lottery”, and forcing top riders to exercise more caution than they otherwise would have.

No such worries for Peter Sagan though, who seems to be in great terms with lady luck as he managed to escape a huge pile up within the final kilometer of the finish. It was initiated by the Spaniard Oscar Freire, who tried to squeeze through a gap that didn’t exist. The resultant chaos held up nearly 51 of the 63 riders in the lead group, thankfully there were no major injuries to come out of it. None of the riders lost any time either as the crash came within 3km of the finish, ensuring all riders were awarded the time of the finisher.

Yesterday was our first day in France, and if nothing else, this cheered up the Russian Denis Menchov quite a bit, who tweeted, “Happy to be in France. Beetroot much better quality than in Belgium. More pink. Now Katusha can have proper borscht in bidons!” At the 5km mark, five riders broke free of the peloton with the polka dot jersey wearer Michael Morkov again part of the breakaway for the third day running. He must have some serious energy in those legs to run at the head of the field every single day this year.

As the pace quickened , first big crash of the day came at around the 79km mark, when a Lampre rider went to ground, taking with him Astana’s Janez Brajkovic and Alexander Vinokourov. However no major damage was done, with only Brajkovic needing treatment on his elbow (while rolling alongside the medical car), and was paced back to the group by teammates Vino and Bozic.

Sadly the next crash wasn’t as harmless. This came after 140km had been done for the day and involved, among others, Sagan (LIQ), Farrar and Vande Velde (GRM), Urtasun (EUS) and Sivtsov (SKY). Everyone except Sivtsov got back on their bikes, licking their wounds drafting behind their respective team cars, but the Belarusian sustained nasty injuries, and despite trying to remount was forced to retire. This would be a minor set back to his team leader Bradley Wiggins as Sivtsov was a useful domestique for him.

Among all this panic, Movistar had moved to the head of the peloton, and were pushing the pace, much to the annoyance of Sky riders who confronted Jose Gutierrez asking him to slow the pace down. For people new to cycling, it is one of those few sports where rivals look after each other even in today’s cynical age. It’s an unwritten rule in the sport that no team takes advantage of a major crash, and the peloton eases its pace to allow the stricken riders a chance to catch up.

Nevertheless the Spanish team weren’t in the mood to slow down much, with the five men breakaway still tearing ahead of them. However as they say karma is a bitch, and just about 20km later, another big crash caused Movistar’s Joaquin Rojas to take a nasty fall. Unfortunately the Spaniard too had to abandon his fight for this year with a broken collar-bone. Simon Gerrans (OGE) was another rider affected by the fall, which eventually cost him a huge 10 minutes in arrears to the leaders.

Up ahead Morkov was once again in his own on the climbs, capturing a major chunk of the points to retain his lead in the King of the mountains classification. In addition his performance yesterday earned him the dossard rouge for the stage as well. Ultimately he could not respond to the frequent bursts in pace by Andriy Grivko and eased into the peloton with 8km to go (the Ukrainian himself was caught just a kilometer later).

With 5km remaining on the day, Chavanel yet again attempted for glory, breaking away solo and he continued to fight till being caught inside the last kilometer. He might have been good enough to claim the stage, had he not been so close to Tour leader Cancellara. Once he broke free, Cancellara’s team Radioshack went crazy at the head of the field to  close the Frenchman down at any cost.

Sagan though timed his acceleration to perfection, claiming the day’s honours ahead of compatriot Peter Velits, whose third place finish made a day to rejoice for the small European nation. Top men Wiggins, Evans and Nibali must have been pleased to finish unscathed, both physically and with respect to their overall timings. No changes then in any of the leader boards, meaning a thrilled Cancellara continues in yellow. He later tweeted, “Hard day will ending now.awesome job from @RSNT boys.nice result on the finish,sagan is just to strong. #yellowDay25.”

Fifth day of racing takes us today along the Normandy coastline for a considerable stretch, providing some breathtaking landscapes. It is one of the longest stages this year, covering a distance of 214.5km from Abbeville to Rouen. No major trouble expected en-route as yesterday, though cross winds coming from the coast can cause a few worries in the peloton at times. Overall its a routine sprint stage which means we get to see another face off between the likes of Cavendish, Greipel and Goss. The German would still be smarting from his loss on Monday and would be keen to get one over the Sky rider. Can anyone defeat the Manx missile??? That should be answered by the end of the day.

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

     Fabian Cancellara

14h 45’ 30”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

     Bradley Wiggins

14h 45’ 37”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

     Sylvain Chavanel

14h 45’ 37”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

Peter Sagan

4h 42’ 58”

Sky Procylcing

44h 17’ 04”

Edvald Boasson Hagen

4h 42’ 59”

Radioshack-Nissan

44h 17’ 08”

Peter Velits

4h 42’ 59”

BMC Racing Team

44h 17’ 10”

Michael Morkov

Dossard Rouge
ps: An interesting tweet from Jens Voigt on yesterday’s stage.

Tour de France 2012 – Stage 2

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They said he cannot do it without his regular lead-out train. They said he cannot do it as he had lost too much weight. They said he cannot do it as his focus is the Olympics and not the Tour. He said ‘Yes I can’, and he, Mark Cavendish aka the ‘Manx Missile’ answered emphatically with the 21st victory of his Tour career in yesterday’s stage 2.

Yes the rider himself wasn’t sure of his sprint chances without the perfect launching platform, but he decided to go for it solo nevertheless. In the end it was his indisputable physical talent and innate ability to judge a sprint to perfection that allowed him to pip hot favourite Andre Greipel by a slender margin. What inflamed the German further, is that Cavendish used his wheel to be guided into the sprint, making Greipel his unlikely domestique.

Cav then rubbed it in with a cheeky comment after the race, “As you can see, it was close. Normally I win by….ah, bike lengths, but today I had to lunge for the line. It wasn’t too easy,” adding further, “I had to do it by myself, but I came in to the race with no pressure so I could be plucky about it. With a team, I’d be expected to win a sprint like that. But when I’m a bonus rider, it’s different. It’s a great feeling.”

This victory leaves him one short of Armstrong’s record of 22 career stage wins. He should equal and even surpass that figure this year, rising to 4th in the list of highest Le Tour career stage wins (led by who other than the iconic Eddy Merckx). His solo effort would surely deflate other sprint teams, but would also make him more of an equal in his own Team Sky, which till now has been all about one man – Bradley Wiggins.

As hectic as the finish may have been, the day started at a more leisurely pace, with the first attack coming after 22km. It was Anthony Reux (FDJ), who despite his fall on Sunday, broke free of the peloton and managed to open a gap. He was pursued and later joined by Christophe Kern (EUC) and Michael Morkov (STB), the King of the mountains leader who was part of the breakaway in stage 1 as well.

Christophe was blessed with a boy on 28 Jun as the teams were preparing for the official presentation and maybe harboured thoughts to repeat Neil Stephens‘ feat, who in 1997, then recently a father won the stage to Colmar. Côte de la Citadelle de Namur was the only climb of the day, and as the trio peddled its cobblestone roads one could see Reux riding with his left hand off the handlebar all the way. Obviously the earlier day’s injury had not healed and could not suffer vibrations of the cobbled road. Proof yet again of the immense pains these riders take (literally) and their steely determination to be a part of the Tour.

Behind him Tony Martin was another such fighter who had fractured his wrist in a crash early on stage 1, but continued with a plastic cast of his injured hand. Apart from it he also had a big plaster on his left elbow and a massive square plaster covering some road rash further up his arm. “We will take it step by step, kilometer by kilometre,” said Martin. “The first objective is to try and arrive to the next time trial on next Monday. I know it won’t be easy, it will be painful, but I really want to try. The Tour de France is really important to me and I don’t want to give up without trying.”

As the stage progressed the escapees were being reeled in at a gradual pace, and their lead which once had risen to 8min was being chipped with every passing kilometer. With 31km to go for the day Reux decided to take the matter in his own hands (he was back to using both his hands by now), breaking away from Kern and Morkov, who had succumbed to fate and were cruising to be sucked in by the main pack.

Eventually with 14km remaining the Frenchman too was gobbled up by the peloton, which like a multi headed serpent was being steered by various teams. Reux’s efforts were not to be in vain as he was adjudged the ‘most combative rider’ of the day, earning him the Dossard Rouge, or a red bib which he gets to wear in today’s stage 3 (apart from a few thousand euros).

There were a few punctures in the final kilometers, however none of the leaders were troubled. Once in the 3km ‘safe zone’ all GC contenders backed off for the sprinters to fight it out in a typically intense finish. And typically it was the reigning world champion who was smiling at the end, with Greipel typically grimacing at yet another close defeat.

Behind them everyone finished safely, with no injuries nor setbacks of any sort. It meant that Cancellara held on to his yellow jersey ahead of Wiggins and Chavanel, though he transferred the points leader jersey to Peter Sagan. The Slovak was second till yesterday behind Cancellara, but was wearing it in any case as a rider cannot wear two jerseys at the same time (it would get really hot and look rather ridiculous too). Evans and Nibali maintained their deficits on the leaders to same as after the prologue, 17 and 18 seconds respectively.

Sadly there were more instances of fans trying to get too close to the action and almost tiptoeing into the riders’ path. This is risky on any day, but infinitely more so during the finish of a sprint stage when the peloton is steaming in at 70km/hr. A faint touch, or a panic evasive manoeuvre and it could end the race (at best or career at worst) of more than a handful of riders. None of the athletes are impressed by such fans, and couple of them did vent their feelings on twitter:

Thankfully nothing bad resulted of those misadventures yesterday, and hopefully won’t for rest of the Tour as well (can’t be sure though). Moving on to today’s stage 3 and it promises lots of action for sure. Even the Tour’s official website reviews the stage in an exciting fashion, “Six big climbs in 100 kilometres, four of which in the last 16 kilometres. This could mark the opening of hostilities in the Tour. There is no way the sprinters will be there at the finish, which will be decided at the same place as the French Championships won by Chavanel. I think the bunch will be smashed to smithereens.”

We finally enter France this year and the legs are fresh, nerves still touchy, ensuring speeds will be high as everyone tries to stay at the head of the field (and out of trouble) on narrow twisty back roads. Hence the lead-up to the climbs might do more damage (read crashes) than the modest climbs themselves. Also none can count on having too many teammates around himself for support in such narrow confines, and hence we might see riders battle it out themselves towards the end.

Don’t let it fool you though, it’s no leg breaker of a mountain stage. The GC contenders should still finish in a bunch and its again Sagan and Boasson Hagen who will be in with a shout at victory. Such stages also often prompt local French riders to form an early breakaway and ride the vociferous home support to a surprise victory (Chavanel’s national victory is a portent). Can Cancellara hold on to yellow though, am not so sure. Much will depend how his team carries him through the initial climbs, if he is left behind early, then we could see a new leader by end of the day. All in all it should be the most exciting day on the Tour thus far. Rubbing hands with glee!!!

Jersey Holders

  

General Classification

Maillot Jaune

Fabian Cancellara

     Fabian Cancellara

10h 02’ 31”

Maillot Vert

Peter Sagan

     Bradley Wiggins

10h 02’ 38”

Maillot à Pois Rouges

Michael Morkov

     Sylvain Chavanel

10h 02’ 38”

Maillot Blanc

Tejay Van Garderen

Stage Result

  

Team GC

Mark Cavendish

4h 56’ 59”

Sky Procylcing

30h 08’ 07”

André Greipel

4h 56’ 59”

Radioshack-Nissan

30h 08’ 11”

Matthew Goss

4h 56’ 59”

BMC Racing Team

30h 08’ 13”

Anthony Roux

Dossard Rouge

Tour de France 2011 – Stage 11

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Even an undone shoe 500m before the finish could not deter a charged Mark Cavendish from claiming his 18th stage victory yesterday. The Manxman made contact with Romain Feillu (whom he had accused last week of dangerous behaviour) in the final sprint and his adjustable buckle came undone, but such is his form that he was able to bend down, reinsert the strap and continue to win comfortably ahead of André Greipel.

“My most dangerous point is my acceleration.” Cav said later, and his statement is seemingly justified by the green jersey he earned after yesterday’s efforts. Based on his current form, he is well on target to overhaul Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 career stage victories on the Tour. But that’s not on the mind of the HTC man right now.

No British rider has finished in green since the jersey’s introduction in 1953 – Cavendish himself has failed on two previous occasions – but with just two sprint stages remaining, he is definitely in the driver’s seat. However he needs to be vary of Philppe Gilbert and Jose Joaquin Rojas right behind him, who with their better all round abilities are very much in the fight.

 Yesterday was  a short and flat stage not of much interest to any top contenders (except the sprinters ofcourse). FDJ’s Mickael Delage was part of the initial breakaway and earned the status of the rider who has spent most time charging away from the peloton. At the end of yesterday he has been part of various attacks for 392km of the total 1,794km covered. Sadly he wins no awards for the achievement apart from troubling the statisticians.

The only withdrawal on the day was the Frenchman John Gadret (AG2R). He has struggled right from day one and cited exhaustion as the reason for his pulling out of the Tour. Maybe his fourth placed finish in the recently concluded Giro d’Italia had to do with the fatigue that forced this decision.

Tougher side of life was on display elsewhere too as stage 10 winner André Greipel was seen ferrying water bottles for his team-mates. Such is the nature of this unique event that irrespective of your personal achievements, everyone has to surrender his ego to the team’s cause and only the leader is spared such mundane duties.

Apart from the last dash there was nothing out of the ordinary on the stage, making it one of those days where you can relax and admire at the stunning French countryside. By you I mean the viewers, cause the riders don’t get that luxury until the final ceremonial stage leading to Paris. However the grumpy weather conditions snatched even that joy from us and toward the end the field had to wade through a torrential downpour.

Today is much more interesting though. Finally comes the day of serious climbs where one can hope for an attack by a top contender. The stage features three major climbs in the final 60km, two of which are of the severest Hors catégorie. Col du Tourmalet is steeped in history and was the backdrop for the captivating Schleck vs Contador battle during stage 17 last year.

In that edition the Spaniard came out second best (on the given day), but with the conditions that were, the way both riders destroyed the peloton battling solo till the summit was stuff of legends. The weather looks pretty similar to last year and should give the mysterious aura, however matters do not end there. Having scaled this mammoth peak, riders move on for a last test on the day.

The finish on Luz-Ardiden is one of the nastiest this year and any rider who struggles today can forget to dream of glory in Paris. There may not be major attacks as this is only the first mountain stage, but it will be a tough ask of Thomas Voeckler to hang on to the maillot jaune by the end. He accepted the fact in his comments yesterday, “I will try, but I honestly expect to lose the jersey tomorrow. That doesn’t mean that I won’t fight. We’ll see…”

While I cannot say the Tour has been short of action in the first 11 days, however today marks the beginning of the main battle. Do not move away from your screens, as the climbs on Le Tour seldom disappoint. I have my allegiances towards Andy Schleck, but cannot discount Cadel Evans for a moment considering his current form. Alberto Contador might be injured, but one never rules out a three-time winner of the Tour and their three-way battle is bound to be invigorating. So till tomorrow then…

ps: For all who want to bathe in the wonder that is Col du Tourmalet, here is a breathtaking archive of images released last year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the climb’s introduction into the Tour.

Jersey holders:                                                                  General Classification:

Maillot Jaune –  Thomas Voeckler                                     Thomas Voeckler – 45h 52’ 39”   Maillot Vert –  Mark Cavendish                                         Luis-Leon Sanchez – 45h 54’ 28”  Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Johnny Hoogerland                  Cadel Evans – 45h 55’ 05”              Maillot Blanc –  Robert Gesink

Tour de France 2011 – Stage 10

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Blitzy start, an early breakaway, composed chase by peloton, attack on the final climb and a close sprint finish. Ah feels good that things are back to normal on Le Tour. Thankfully this report would be more about the technical aspects of professional cycling and not a lament about the brutal nature of the sport – supported by gory images.

To top a peaceful day in the Massif Central, we were treated to an exciting sprint finish, André Greipel edging out arch rival Mark Cavendish by half a bike-length to claim his maiden stage victory in the Tour. Both riders showed tremendous skill and tenacity to have fought till the line, despite having survived a hard day through the rolling terrain.

There is no love lost between Cav and Greipel and both have exchanged many heated words, despite working as team-mates till last year.  This uncomfortable scenario led to the German leaving HTC for Omega Pharma-Lotto this year, as he considered his earlier employers were not giving him his due and instead favouring the Manx missile.

There were no hard feelings in Cavendish’s post race comments, but the hurt was there for all to see. He said, “I didn’t hesitate but I didn’t commit early enough. I kind of rolled round Rojas on the last corner and kicked with 170m to go and Greipel just came past and beat me. I’m happy for him. I feel I made a mistake but Greipel beat me so there’s nothing I can say about that.”

Monday’s break ensured there would be no further crash ridden stories, but it brought a different twist to the Tour with its first doping incident. Russian Alexandr Kolobnev withdrew after testing positive for a banned substance in a sample he had provided on 06 July. Though the Russian has strongly pleaded his innocence, his team are being quiet about it till the B sample is verified.

Doping control has come down hard in recent years, but their insensitivity seemed to stretch a bit too far when they roused the injured Johnny Hoogerland (and his team) early on the day for a drugs test. While authorities claimed to have followed standard procedure, one expected more compassion from them towards a rider who has had three sets of 13 stitches on his legs.

The crashes continued to take a toll despite the relative peace, with Yaroslav Popovych being the latest to fall out and did not make to the start on Tuesday. His withdrawal leaves Radioshck with just six riders remaining in the Tour, making them one of the worst hit teams this year.

But the rest day seemed to have done rest of the peloton some good as they recorded the fastest start to a stage this year, with the average speed for the opening hour being 51.6km/h! As things settled with distance, there was the usual breakaway with the main group ambling within manageable distance of them. At the half way mark the six riders were 3′ 48″ ahead of the peloton.

First action of the day arrived late with just 16km to go as Omega Pharma-Lotto exploded the peloton on the last climb of the day. Their obvious aim was to break the sprint teams and in the process drop as many rivals of green jersey holder Philippe Gilbert as possible. An aim in which they partly succeeded as the main bunch was whittled down to around 25 riders within a few minutes.

The maillot vert himself attacked within a kilometer of the summit of Côte de Mirandol-Bourgnounac followed by four riders including the maillot jaune. It was exciting – and a bit unusual - to see the two jersey holders break and pull a gap of around 10 seconds between them and the main bunch.

The World No 1 put in all the hard work as the other three bickered behind him, and continued ahead solo once they fell back during the descent. But his brave charge was reeled in by the peloton, which contained all the leading sprinters sans a few (Matt Goss, Alessandro Petacchi and Tyler Farrar being the notable casualties of the climb).

The final kilometer to the finish line contained a few nasty corners and considering the speeds at which the riders were charging, it was a near miracle we did not see any mass pile ups. As Greipel surged ahead to a memorable victory, the results behind him did not bring about any changes to the provisional podium or the jersey wearers.

Today’s stage is lighter than the earlier, probably in anticipation of the hell awaiting the riders in the Pyrenees from Thursday. It is also the last opportunity for the sprinters to hog the limelight, as the final two sprint stages will definitely be overshadowed by the battle for overall victory. Watch out then for a hurt Cavendish, or big name riders with no honours to their name yet. For me this is just the last bit of filler till the serious stuff begins on stage 12. So till tomorrow then…

Jersey holders:                                                                  General Classification:

Maillot Jaune –  Thomas Voeckler                                     Thomas Voeckler – 42h 06’ 32”   Maillot Vert –  Philippe Gilbert                                         Luis-Leon Sanchez – 42h 08’ 21” Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Johnny Hoogerland                  Cadel Evans – 42h 08’ 58”             Maillot Blanc –  Robert Gesink

ps: Sunday’s crash caused by the French TV car was as bizarre as they come, but it certainly is not the only one. This crash back in 2007 was the day Le Tour “literally” went to the dogs :P